The Atari Factory - What happened?

[fibrewire]

What happened to all of the injection molds for early Atari equipment?

[19Echo]

what are you trying to make? I mold plastic as a hobby. (slot cars, buildings, even made a shell for an sio connector somewhere....)

[Bryan]

How about a run of 1450XLD cases?

[fibrewire]

it's probably cheaper to buy the original molds (or borrow) instead of making new ones for A8 equipment.

[19Echo]

i dunno....... i got a half drum of mold making material in the backyard

 

come to think about it, i may try an xm-301 case to fit the sio2sd that way i dont have to destroy one

Edited August 19, 2011 by 19Echo

[Arkanoid_376970]

would be awesome to find the original chip dies... replacement parts for all!!!!

[Rybags]

Wasn't there a thread about Jaguar molds a while back?

 

No idea about the other stuff... wasn't a lot of it made by Chelco? Chances are, if it's 3rd party stuff it might still exist.

[Curt Vendel]

I've spent 13 years trying to find them.

 

Chelco Group has no records, can't make any inroads on Chinon.

 

I think any chance of finding details from Atari Japan may not be totally lost.

 

ATMC (Atari Tawain Manufacturing Company) which was under WONG was sold and I can't find who the buyer was.

 

The problem is, molds that are only 2-3 years old are tough for companies to find, never mind molds that are 20+ years old.

 

I've come to the conclusion that they are permanently lost...

 

Now, if anyone is good with making Solidworks models and want to help me recreate nearly ever Atari plastic enclosure design ever made - contact me direct: [email protected] as I have a bold project in mind to bring all of the original products back to life, but it's gonna take a lot of help and manpower by people who've got the skills, I can't do it all myself, I'm going from 7am to 2am-3am almost every day and I still don't have enough time, so I need help and I'm looking for anyone who wants to help out and has the skills. We can make a difference and bring back some wonderful products once thought lost.... I have literally every mechanical drawing from every produced and prototype product Atari ever designed, everything has been separated and categorized into Architectural storage tubes, so now that things are sorted, its time to start to bring these items back...

 

As most know I've brought to life the prototype Atari 7800 computer Module - a prototype design that is now the new 7800 Expansion Module. I've recreated the Atari 2600/7800 Cartridge guide and I'm awaiting the fresh batch of brand new Atari SIO ports, so things are coming back to life, now its time to start to bring back other items.

 

 

 

Curt

 

What happened to all of the injection molds for early Atari equipment?

[kskunk]

Big molds, for computer casings and the like, are huge and enormously heavy. So they're both very expensive and difficult to store, and worth quite a bit as scrap. As a result, any logical person would just melt them down after a few years of trying to sell them.

 

The Jaguar molds are one example of how a mold can survive -- they were sold right away and put into use by a new company.

 

Unless there's some piece of equipment out there still in production that strongly resembles a 1450XL, it's almost a certainty the molds were melted down.

 

The only other alternative is that there is some forgotten warehouse with the molds sitting in a corner with 10 inches of dust on top. Unfortunately, that never happens in Sunnyvale, where the early Atari factories were, due to very high value of real estate -- wasted space gets sold and reused quickly. But maybe if parts were made in the middle of the country at some point...

 

Seems like a long shot.

 

-KS

Edited August 19, 2011 by kskunk

[JohnBuell]

Not Atari related, but I remember reading how Hasbro had sold off some of its toy molds to other companies in the 1990s, then came to regret it when the retro scene picked up. Supposedly there are knock-off GI Joe 3" figures out there that have the old Hasbro house logo on their belt, just like the originals. Oops.

[Rybags]

It'd be mega cool if someone had the molds and a $20 DVD player using the old 1050 case came along which gave us an alternate spares source, but I doubt anything like that would happen.

 

Most of the old cases are just way too big for any modern day equivalent device. Maybe some of the smaller peripherals like the later modems are excepted, but little else.

[fibrewire]

Anyone know how the pattern on the plastic was created for the early Atari plastic halves?

[Curt Vendel]

I have all of the documents, mechanicals and drawings.

 

 

Anyone know how the pattern on the plastic was created for the early Atari plastic halves?

[Vandal968]

The only other alternative is that there is some forgotten warehouse with the molds sitting in a corner with 10 inches of dust on top. Unfortunately, that never happens in Sunnyvale, where the early Atari factories were, due to very high value of real estate -- wasted space gets sold and reused quickly. But maybe if parts were made in the middle of the country at some point...

 

Seems like a long shot.

 

-KS

Best Electronics bought out most of the Atari warehouses and they claim to have thousands of unopened/uncategorized pallets of Atari stuff. It's quite likely that they have at least some of the molds, but haven't yet found them. Considering that they've been in business for 20+ years and have only cataloged a fraction of their inventory, it's likely that some of this stuff will never be uncovered even if they do have it.

 

v

Edited August 19, 2011 by Vandal968

[Vandal968]

Now, if anyone is good with making Solidworks models and want to help me recreate nearly ever Atari plastic enclosure design ever made - contact me direct: [email protected] as I have a bold project in mind to bring all of the original products back to life, but it's gonna take a lot of help and manpower by people who've got the skills, I can't do it all myself, I'm going from 7am to 2am-3am almost every day and I still don't have enough time, so I need help and I'm looking for anyone who wants to help out and has the skills. We can make a difference and bring back some wonderful products once thought lost.... I have literally every mechanical drawing from every produced and prototype product Atari ever designed, everything has been separated and categorized into Architectural storage tubes, so now that things are sorted, its time to start to bring these items back...

 

As most know I've brought to life the prototype Atari 7800 computer Module - a prototype design that is now the new 7800 Expansion Module. I've recreated the Atari 2600/7800 Cartridge guide and I'm awaiting the fresh batch of brand new Atari SIO ports, so things are coming back to life, now its time to start to bring back other items.

 

Curt

Curt,

I sent you an email a couple of weeks ago when I was starting my 1450 mobo project and I never got a reply. I figured that you were just busy, so I'm trying not to take it personally...

 

As luck would have it, I used to design injection-molded parts for a living. In fact, I'll share another little secret project that I'm working on. I hate it when people trash vintage Atari stuff to use the enclosures for something else. XM301 => SIO2SD for example. So, I've been working on a little enclosure to match the look of the XL series computers that I was hoping to make a small-run of. Here's a taste:

 

If you would like to work together on those old enclosures, I'd be happy to assist. I really admire all of this great stuff that you do for the community. I would prefer to start on some of the parts that directly impact my 1450XLD/1400XL project (don't know which it's going to be yet).

 

Let me know.

 

best,

v

Edited August 19, 2011 by Vandal968

[+AtariNerd]

The only other alternative is that there is some forgotten warehouse with the molds sitting in a corner with 10 inches of dust on top. Unfortunately, that never happens in Sunnyvale, where the early Atari factories were, due to very high value of real estate -- wasted space gets sold and reused quickly. But maybe if parts were made in the middle of the country at some point...

 

Seems like a long shot.

 

-KS

Best Electronics bought out most of the Atari warehouses and they claim to have thousands of unopened/uncategorized pallets of Atari stuff. It's quite likely that they have at least some of the molds, but haven't yet found them. Considering that they've been in business for 20+ years and have only cataloged a fraction of their inventory, it's likely that some of this stuff will never be uncovered even if they do have it.

 

v

 

Maybe it's time for an archaeology expedition.

[Vandal968]

Anyone know how the pattern on the plastic was created for the early Atari plastic halves?

There used to be catalogs of textures that were embossed on plastic sample tiles, they were copyrighted. You would select a texture, and after the mold was machined the texture would be chemically etched onto the mold halves. The texture makes it more difficult for the parts to eject from the molds, so you will notice more pronounced draft-angles on parts that are heavily textured. I haven't done production molds in a long time, so I don't know if this same process is still being used or if they are maybe texturing with wire EDM or some other process, but this is how it was done in the early 1990's and is probably how Atari did it back in the day.

 

cheers,

v

Edited August 19, 2011 by Vandal968

[+Philsan]

Awesome Vandal.

 

Very similar to Jon's SIO2SD mods:

 

[Vandal968]

Awesome Vandal.

 

Very similar to Jon's SIO2SD mods:

 

Wow, I really like that one on the left with the brown on it, looks great. I was actually using the Atari 1020 plotter as my inspiration, but it ended up very similar to Jon's. I am designing it so that all of the original buttons are used without having to be relocated. There are a couple of shortcomings in the SIO2SD board layout. For example, it would have been nice if they had included some type of mounting holes, or if they had put the card slot in the front and SIO cable in the rear, but I'm trying to work with what we've got without re-doing the board. Another gotcha is that I've noticed that the LCD displays vary physically quite a bit. I've got a blue one and a orange one and they are quite different. I'm attaching my original design sketch.

 

cheers,

v

[+Philsan]

If you look here

http://sio2sd-dev.gu...pl/wiki/English

you'll see that perhaps someone is working on a new PCB: "Tester (also new SMD PCB designer - still not finished): Jakub Husak".

You should contact SIO2SD team.

 

BTW, AA user c0nsumer is interested in producing a SIO2SD too (if there is enough demand).

You could contact him too.

[flashjazzcat]

I hate it when people trash vintage Atari stuff to use the enclosures for something else. XM301 => SIO2SD for example.

I lose little sleep over the XM301's I've slaughtered, mainly because they're useless little grey boxes until I get my hands on them. 1064s are a little better looking, but again I think they're mostly useless nowadays and they look better as SIO2SDs, and if an ardent collector has an unspoiled example of both in their archives, they're sufficiently preserved.

 

So, I've been working on a little enclosure to match the look of the XL series computers that I was hoping to make a small-run of. Here's a taste:

It looks superb!

 

There are a couple of shortcomings in the SIO2SD board layout. For example, it would have been nice if they had included some type of mounting holes, or if they had put the card slot in the front and SIO cable in the rear, but I'm trying to work with what we've got without re-doing the board. Another gotcha is that I've noticed that the LCD displays vary physically quite a bit. I've got a blue one and a orange one and they are quite different.

The SIO2SD board as it stands is quite useless when it comes to casing it up. One must use hot glue or strategically drilled holes. IMO, a serious attempt at a production run of boxed SIO2SDs warrants a board redesign. It's something I embarked on myself but never completed (I had assistance, i.e. someone to work Eagle, I hasten to add). Regarding the LCD displays and their variance: this is why I back-mounted the displays in a recess, rather than pushing the fascia up through an aperture in the top of the case (which looks awful anyway, IMO). Even then, it was necessary to custom-measure the aperture, depending on the characteristics of the panel.

[+Philsan]

Best Electronics bought out most of the Atari warehouses and they claim to have thousands of unopened/uncategorized pallets of Atari stuff. It's quite likely that they have at least some of the molds, but haven't yet found them. Considering that they've been in business for 20+ years and have only cataloged a fraction of their inventory, it's likely that some of this stuff will never be uncovered even if they do have it.

If it's true, they really don't open boxes.

For years their items are always the same; in fact some items have become out of stock.

[flashjazzcat]

Best Electronics bought out most of the Atari warehouses and they claim to have thousands of unopened/uncategorized pallets of Atari stuff. It's quite likely that they have at least some of the molds, but haven't yet found them. Considering that they've been in business for 20+ years and have only cataloged a fraction of their inventory, it's likely that some of this stuff will never be uncovered even if they do have it.

If it's true, they really don't open boxes.

For years their items are always the same; in fact some items have become out of stock.

I hereby volunteer to fly out there and categorize them!

[+Philsan]

Best Electronics bought out most of the Atari warehouses and they claim to have thousands of unopened/uncategorized pallets of Atari stuff. It's quite likely that they have at least some of the molds, but haven't yet found them. Considering that they've been in business for 20+ years and have only cataloged a fraction of their inventory, it's likely that some of this stuff will never be uncovered even if they do have it.

If it's true, they really don't open boxes.

For years their items are always the same; in fact some items have become out of stock.

I hereby volunteer to fly out there and categorize them!

The problem is to bring back items by plane.

[flashjazzcat]

The problem is to bring back items by plane.

Indeed... and moreover, I guess other people would want stuff too - as well as me - so that would mean several planes.

 

Anyway - if we're gonna dig any moulds out, I vote for 1027 printer wheels first.

Edited August 19, 2011 by flashjazzcat